There are distinct differences in the pattern of daily life for Peruvians, depending on their social class and whether they live in rural or urban settings. Most people who live in rural areas are very dependent on the agricultural cycle. The planting and harvesting periods, for example, are times that require a significant amount of hard work (much of it communal), whereas other times of the year do not demand such intensive labour. Most work is done during daylight hours; people rise early and go to bed early. The herding of sheep, llamas, and alpacas takes place at elevations above the limits of agriculture; pastoralists follow a distinct annual cycle that in many ways is more difficult (and certainly more isolated) than that of rural farmers. Religious festivals, weddings, baptisms, and similar occasions are often the only disruptions to the rigours of rural life, and these events are communal, with entire villages sharing in a family’s celebration.

The daily life of the residents of Peru’s cities varies with social class. Relatively few of the poorer residents have good jobs within the formal Peruvian economy; often they must work two or three jobs, and they have less leisure time than other Peruvians. Such people make up the majority of the population in squatter settlements that surround the major urban areas.

The life of the upper-middle class and more-affluent residents of Peru’s cities is much different from that of the urban poor. The most important meal is usually taken shortly after noon; most families assemble for this dinner. The early afternoon is reserved for the siesta (nap) hour, followed by a return to work for those who are employed; for those who are not, it is a time for relaxing, paying social visits, participating in sporting activities, or watching a favourite telenovela (soap opera). The evening meal is usually very late and often taken away from home—while visiting with friends or in a restaurant or neighbourhood bar. Extended families frequently get together for birthday parties, weddings, baptisms, and other social events.

For people of higher economic and social status, most daily tasks, such as cooking, house cleaning, and gardening, are performed by servants. Many wealthy families in Lima have more than one home: the main house may be in one of the city’s elite neighbourhoods; a second may be at the beach; and a third may be in the Andean foothills or overseas.

Traditional Peruvian cuisine has much regional variation. In the highlands, most meals consist of potatoes along with other Andean tubers (oca and ulluco, for example), grains such as quinoa, and protein from the meat of llamas, guinea pigs, chickens, and fish. In coastal areas, traditional cooking is called criollo style, with lots of rice, cassava (yuca), tomatoes, onions, spicy peppers, and fresh seafood. Seviche (raw fish marinated in lemon or lime juice) is popular throughout Peru.

In urban areas, people dress in typical Western-style clothing. In rural areas, however, traditional clothing styles date back to the colonial period. Each region in the Andes has distinctive hats, ponchos, blouses, skirts, and belts, often fabricated from homemade traditional textiles.

Recreational activities vary as widely in Peru as do the social classes, but for everyone there are the fiestas, which are held by numerous communities across the country. These colourful events often celebrate religious themes, but some are held for secular holidays. Each village or town has at least one important annual festival that celebrates its patron saint; migrants to the cities often return home for these annual events. Several such celebrations have taken on national importance; the processions in Lima each October related to the Señor de los Milagros (“Lord of Miracles”; referring to a colonial-era image of Christ that survived an earthquake in 1655) are the most important. Other festivals—such as those that relate to the Cross of Motupe in northern coastal Peru, the Virgin of Copacabana near Lake Titicaca, Holy Week in Ayacucho, or the Lord of Coylluriti on Ocongate Mountain south of Cuzco —are still of great regional importance for the people of Peru. In Cuzco the winter solstice festival, Inti Raymi, is celebrated each year on June 24th but is now more of a tourist celebration than a native one. Corpus Christi, in honour of the Eucharist, is a movable celebration that is important throughout the country, particularly in Cuzco; it usually takes place in early June.

The arts

Folk culture

Peruvian folk culture is deeply tinged with ancestral inheritance. In both town and countryside, notable examples of pre-Hispanic and mestizo lore abound in myths, songs, superstitions, and dances. Handicrafts, popular with tourists and collectors, provide a close link with such pre-Hispanic crafts as weaving, ceramics, and metalworking.

Fine arts

The arts have long occupied a position of esteem among Peru’s educated minority. Since the late 19th century, most writers have felt a ceaseless duty to analyze their society. Ricardo Palma was among the first to utilize Peruvian themes in such works as Tradiciones peruanas (1872; “Peruvian Traditions”). Aves sin nido (1889; Birds Without a Nest), by Clorinda Matto de Turner, was the first of many books whose authors exposed the conditions of Indian life. César Vallejo is often regarded as Peru’s finest poet, and novelists José María Arguedas and Mario Vargas Llosa have received high critical acclaim in the post-World War II era. (See also Latin American literature.)

Painting reached its zenith with the famous Cuzco school during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most of the thousands of paintings and sculptures are anonymous, and the works show resemblances both to Byzantine and to Asian forms. Modern Peruvian art has followed an abstract course, notably in the work of the painter Fernando de Szyszlo and the sculptor Joaquin Roca Rey. Numerous galleries in Lima regularly display the works of contemporary Peruvian artists. (See also Latin American art.)

José María Valle-Riestra’s opera Ollanta and Vicente Stea’s Sinfonía autóctona (Aboriginal Symphony) were the major musical works of 19th-century Peru. Later, Luis Duncker Lavalle, who composed mainly for the piano, incorporated Peruvian motifs into Western forms. Lima is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and a philharmonic orchestra; both regularly perform the works of Peruvian as well as international composers. Indigenous music, descending from Inca roots, is often played on quenas (notched vertical flutes), zamponas (panpipes), charangos (small guitars with bodies commonly made from armadillo shells), harps, and drums. The sounds of this music can be heard today during festivals in rural areas, on street corners in tourist centres such as Cuzco, in the dining rooms of major hotels, and in penas (nightclubs) and chicherías (bars) throughout urban Peru. Peruvian panpipe ensembles have also performed throughout the world. Today indigenous forms of music have blended with Western forms to yield the huayno—an urbanized sound that emphasizes emotional lyrics and is a popular choice for dance music. A further mixing of huayno with other indigenous and Western musical styles results in chicha—Peruvian rock and roll.

The theatre is a popular institution in Peru, with a strong tradition dating to colonial times. National professional companies perform in major productions at the Municipal Theatre, which was built in Lima at the site of a colonial theatre dating to 1604. The concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra are also presented there, as are the performances of the main national and touring ballet and folk dance companies. Filmmaking in Peru is not well developed; most films produced there are short—full-length features being mostly imports. A number of Peruvian television programs, particularly telenovelas, are distributed throughout Latin America.

Cultural institutions

Much of the country’s cultural development is overseen by the National Institute of Culture, which seeks to make cultural activities available to all. The Peruvian museums are especially rich in their archaeological collections representing Peru’s pre-Hispanic past. The most noteworthy of these are in Lima and include such institutions as the National Museum, displaying a unique collection of archaeological objects, the National Museum of Art, the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, and the Larco Museum, which holds one of the most extensive collections of artifacts from the northern coastal region. Regional archaeological museums are found in many parts of the country; the Sican and Sipan museums in Lambayeque hold many objects recovered from the excavations of nearby river valleys. The main library collection is housed in the National Library in Lima and in the major university libraries.

The ancient Peruvians were great builders of houses, temples, palaces, and fortresses, adapting their architecture to the landscape. Later, Spanish colonization resulted in the addition of the colonizers’ own distinctive style of architecture. The historic centre of Lima (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988) contains a significant number of buildings that retain this colonial architecture, notably the cathedral, which was laid out on a site chosen by Francisco Pizarro; the present building, however, has been rebuilt numerous times after earthquakes. Nearby is Lima’s most important architectural jewel—the church and convent of San Francisco. Many fine colonial era mansions still exist, often converted to serve as modern-day businesses or museums. Contemporary architecture has been characterized by the so-called neo-Peruvian, or Peruvian Baroque, and by the introduction of modern concrete and steel structures.

Perhaps the best-known examples of Peru’s cultural past are the country’s Inca remains, most notably Machu Picchu (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983). Once a “lost city,” secluded at an elevation of 7,710 feet (2,350 metres) in the Andes Mountains northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu was may have been visited in 1867 by the German adventurer Augusto Berns, who is thought to have removed many of its valuables. The site was rediscovered definitely visited in 1911 by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham, who initiated archaeological investigations there. Surrounded by lush green, forested hills, Machu Picchu comprises hundreds of well-built agricultural terraces, a multitude of small stone houses, and several ceremonial temples constructed of carved rock. Research suggests that Machu Picchu was a royal estate of the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Other remains of Inca sites found in the area around Cuzco include the region known as the Sacred Valley (Urubamba River valley). The Andes are also home to Chavín de Huántar, an impressive collection of pre-Colombian ruins of the Chavín culture, and Río Abiseo National Park, known for pre-Inca ruins as well as unique plant and animal life (both places were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, in 1985 and 1990 respectively).

Thousands of other archaeological ruins dot the Peruvian countryside. Near Trujillo, several sites have been the focus of much archaeological research, including Chan Chan (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986), the capital city of Chimú state, and the Moche River valley, which is dominated by the massive Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon structures and was a major centre of the Moche (Mochica) culture. The Nazca Lines (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994), giant geogylphs or drawings on the desert plains south of Lima, are more than 1,500 years old, and they remain an enigma. Archaeologists and grave robbers have uncovered thousands of decorated jugs and bowls and embroidered textiles throughout the Peruvian countryside; the weavings of the Paracas culture and the ceramics of the Moche are especially distinguished. The dryness of the coast has helped to preserve many pre-Incan remains.

Sports and recreation

The most popular spectator sports, as in most other Latin American countries, are football (soccer) and bullfighting, the latter at the renowned Plaza de Acho bullring in Lima. Football is played in the National Stadium near downtown Lima, and there are a number of professional teams in Lima and the other major cities. Football games are also played throughout the country—any flat space large enough to accommodate two goals will be used by both children and adults. On a recreational level, a scaled-down version of football is regularly played on basketball courts, often by organized leagues of adults. Volleyball has become a popular sport, particularly for women; the Peruvian national team has had great success in international competition. Basketball, horse racing, and cockfighting are among other well-attended events.

Swimming and surfing are popular activities along the Pacific coast, especially during the summer months (December–February), when thousands of residents of Lima, Trujillo, and Chiclayo flock to the beaches during the midday siesta period. Other sports, such as golf, tennis, and yachting, are almost exclusively the provenience of the affluent, with private clubs offering the only facilities in most large cities.

Media and publishing

Although freedom of the press is guaranteed by the Peruvian constitution, the media have been periodically subjected to government control. The major dailies generally have a tradition of taking strong political stands in support of political parties of their choice. Most of the leading dailies, such as El Comercio, Expreso, and Ojo, are in Lima; others are published in Arequipa, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. Lima’s El Peruano, one of the oldest dailies in the Americas, was founded in 1825. Many of these papers and several Peruvian newsweeklies are now also available on the Internet.

The electronic media in particular have sometimes been subjected to political censorship, which became especially severe in the early 1970s when the national government assumed a majority ownership of all television stations and a significant stake in all radio stations. In the early 21st century, virtually all television and radio stations and newspapers were privately owned, and freedom of the press—guaranteed under the constitution—was generally respected by the national government. Lima has several television channels, and there are stations in all of the major cities. Cable and satellite providers offer international programming.